Trouble on A Tuesday - Meeting Callie - by Tigris

 Dear reader,

You would assume indoor cats would be spared the indignation of being forced to meet dogs, however, in this new house, this is not the case.

As you may recall, the SPCA stated I should not be in a home with dogs. However, after hearing about Zaphod, and reviewing my record (no one could clearly tell why this was on my profile) I came to a dog house. 

Our time together was short, and I did my best to avoid the dog. We had come to an understanding. However, on Friday, the Lady and Man violated our agreement and let Callie in the house. As she shares her home with 3 cats (Milo, Cinder and Ash), Callie at least is respectful enough for a dog. 

Neither Styx nor I enjoyed being sniffed by this canine. At least her visit was quick. 

Me sneaking away from Callie

Styx getting smelled by her

A not thrilled Styx 

The human who brought Callie, brought us this.

We hope it was a one off and Callie stays outside where she belongs.

Tigris

Trouble on a Tuesday - Styx's second adventure

On Wednesday morning, the Lady left for work very early. As Styx is interested in going outside, because he is interested in everything, Lady watched her feet carefully when she went into the garage. 

A few hours later the Man got up and Styx was no where to be found. There was no sign of him for the whole day. The Man was sure he had escaped. Lady and Man looked outside. They put food outside. They were very upset that not even 4 days later, they had lost a cat.

Sad Lady went to bed early. About an hour after falling asleep she heard the Man call "I found Styx." Turns out, the laundry room door (which has a problem) hadn't been closed properly and Mr. Styx had gotten himself in the ceiling again. It was Tigris who alerted the Man to his location. 

Styx had himself in a different spot and didn't want to come out and couldn't be reached. Man and Lady put some food out on the washer and went to bed. While they didn't like him being in the ceiling, they knew he was safe in there. 

In the morning, he hadn't come out. The Man climbed the ladder with food in hand and he came to the edge. (It had been at least 24 hours since he ate, likely longer as Lady didn't feed the Rivers before she left for work). Man was able to grab him and slowly pull him out, around all the plumbing. As soon as he was down, he started to purr. 

Getting love after the rescue

Lady and Man have been extra careful using the laundry room. They have purchased some plastic to staple up so they can use the room and not worry about him getting in the ceiling (really the litter box should be in this space).  However, their attempt at this failed and in the test, he got up a third time, so the litter box is not going in this space and they hope what they have up can slow him down if he is in the room with them. They have also ordered him a collar that will tell their phones where he is, so at least if they can't find him, they will know he is in the house. Clearly he is an adventurer.

Side note: The SPCA said Styx was 4, but Lady and Man think he may be closer to 1. They also wonder if Tigris is his mom. At any rate the Rivers meet their new vet this week and we will see what they say. 

Trouble on a Tuesday - The Advantage of Being Lighter - by Phod

 Dear pals,

One of the things I have been doing since becoming an only dog, is needing to go outside in the night more often. My people aren't sure why this is, they wonder if it is I think that Lee isn't here so someone should do it. At any rate, my people hope this phase passes.

As I mentioned yesterday, last week the snow was still pretty deep in our yard. Wednesday morning around 1:30 am, I needed to go out, so Lady took me. I discovered I could walk across the yard and explore places I haven't been able to go for months.

I was out wandering on the lawn, having a great time, and Lady was getting a little impatient. Something about having to get up at 5 am, and this was a business trip and not a play trip. I wasn't really listening because I was too busy sniffing. Lady finally, after about 15 minutes, decided to come and get me.

Well Lady weights more than 77 lbs, so when she started to walk to get me, she sunk up to her knees (and may have twisted her knee a little). She realized this wasn't going to work.

She tried calling again, but I wasn't listening. So she decided, the only thing she could do, was to crawl out to get me. So she crawled across the lawn, put me on leash, and crawled back with me reluctantly following. 

We got back inside around 1:50 am, Lady was soaked and a combination of frustrated and amused. 

I lost my off leash privileges in the night until the snow is almost gone. No regrets!

your pal, I got a lot of sniffs to catch up with Phod

The Nerve - By Hailey

 Dear pals,

As I mentioned yesterday the vet has noticed I have level 1 kidney disease. While I know my peeps and I do take this seriously, I got the following from the vet. 

You don't have to speak or read French to see they have labelled me as obese. Now I am not saying I am in the shape I was in my youth. I am aware my curves are rounder, however, I am dealing with a lot right now and think the term obese is a little much. Are they trying to kick an old girl while she is down.

(Yes, Lady plans on picking up some of that food for me. She tried to on Saturday but due to some traffic issues, couldn't get to the store before it closed).

your curvy pal, Hailey Bug

Trouble on a Tuesday - Different is Not Good - by Phod

 Dear pals,

I like my routine. In the evening I expect dinner, a walk, the people spending a brief period of time upstairs, before retiring to watch shows. I generally then go sleep in my closet because I can relax as all is right with the world.

You are doing things wrong

What I got on Saturday was not what I liked. 

First, I went out before dinner. Then I got dinner. Then the people took their dinner downstairs (which they rarely do) so they could watch something on TV while they ate. 

I am sitting between you and I am still not happy

I was not having this.

I went down with them and I paced,  and I got on and off the couch and I paces some more. I would not settle.

I only settled once Lady came back upstairs and did things that looked more like our routine. Then I could go to my closet to sleep.

Why do my people insist on doing things different?

your pal, Keep it the same pleaase, Zaphod

Trouble on A Tuesday - The Most Terrible Day - by Phod

 Dear pals,

I must admit that my life is usually pretty good. My people take good care of me. I get to sleep in the closet a lot. However, one day last week I had the most terrible awful day.

It started out ok. After lunch, Lady left the house for maybe 50 minutes to go on a solo walk. I was asleep in the closet when she left. 

When she returned, as soon as she opened the door the scent hit her.  While she was out, I had a little problem. I went downstairs and managed to walk and have diarrhea that coved about 12 feet. Lady scrubbed and cleaned and had to open all the windows because the scent lingered. 

My tummy continued to be unsettled for the rest of the afternoon, but fortunately, we were able to get outside.

That evening, during my post dinner stroll, we stopped to chat with Callie's people. I was having a nice time catching up. I was a little mad at Callie's Man for being away and didn't really want to talk to him.  He would go to pet me and I would turn away. Suddenly, out of no where all these wasps appeared where I was standing. As Lady was trying to move me, I stepped on a wasp. It hurt! Callie's Man gave me a lot of love. He and my Man checked my paw. It stung and I limped home.

While I wasn't happy about being stung, what happened next was worse. My people tried to ice my paw. I did not like this. I kicked the ice out, making the floor slippery and then slid and fell and it was horrible.

My paw felt fine by the next day.

Needless to say, I don't need a bad day like that again anytime soon.

your pal, please keep the ice to yourself Phod

Trouble on a Tuesday - Race - by Lee

Dear pals,

The other evening we were having a nice stroll around the field, when this old girl got a fun idea. Let's race!

Walking more or less with everyone

Without the starting pistol, I started to run. 

Can you spot me?

I am not as fast as I was, but Man couldn't keep up.

Phod and Lady didn't even try.

I ended the race in the neighbour's yard.

I won.

It was fun. I even checked in a few times to make sure Man was ok.

I may be old, but I still got some spunk.

your pal, Hailey Bug, Gold medalist in the Paradise field race

Trouble on a Tuesday - Old Lady Life by Lee

 Dear pals,

it was a mixed bag week for this old gal. My Lady is in charge of me 6/7 nights (the Man does Saturday night) and I was up some of them. There was a storm Friday night, so that, then my upset tummy at 3:45, Lady was up a lot. We let her sleep until 10:30 am on Saturday. Lady is not at all frustrated that on Man's one night I only had to go out at 5:30 and not for a 3 am walk.  (Note, Man will not take me for a middle of the night walk, only Lady will).

This week saw this old gal, have a very upset stomach, wander into the bush and get stuck as I couldn't find a way out, up a lot in the night, one night I only told Lady I had to go after I had pooped all over the floor, having more trouble with my back end, and being very picky about the food I ate. Apparently taking out random pieces and leaving them on the floor is not loved by my people. 

Food all over the floor

Lady says I got really old really fast, but since I always lived faced, it makes sense. 

So that is where we are. Lady is exhausted with me and some crazy work stuff, but we are hanging in dear friends. To make it a bit easier for Lady, sometimes I let her have a little snuggle with me. Overall, I am happy enough. I am living my life on my terms.

We will see how this week goes.

your pal, Hailey Bug

Trouble on A Tuesday - Things That Need to Go In The Night

It isn't every night, but a few nights a week, Miss Hailey Bug continues to need to go out in the night. There isn't a clear pattern, although not pooping after dinner seems to be more related to the need for a night trip. Somewhere between 2-4 am, Miss Bug wakes up and starts to pace around the bedroom and won't settle until we go out. 

If the Man takes her out, they stay in the yard, but if I take her out, we go for a walk to Callie's driveway and back. The reason we go this far is because Hailey likes to poop on Callie's yard, so I am hopeful that if we walk that way, she will go.  Very, very rarely, Phod wakes up and joins us on this night time adventure. 

Tired the day after a 3:30 am walk

I do what I can to try not to wake up too much. I don't turn lights on. I don't put my glasses on. I throw a jacket and shoes, clip on the leash and we go, pjs and all.  I appreciate both the time with my girl and parts of the night I don't usually see. We have heard the owl and the whip-poor-will, seen the stars and watched  beautiful firefly shows. The other night, while out with Man, Lee got to bark at the raccoon that was yelling at her. 

This is the current chapter of our lives. It is difficult and an honour and a privilege to share the golden years with Lee. I hope someday I look back at this fondly.

A tired and grateful Lady

Trouble on a Tuesday - Interfering - by Lee

Dear pals,

Lady has a terrible habit of interrupting me while I am enjoying the sweet, sweet grass.

She says it upsets my stomach. She reminds me sometimes I need some assistance pulling some grass out of my backside.  I reminder her I am a senior lady in my golden years and I will do what I want. 

The grass at the side of the house, right by the opening to the sceptic system is the best.

your pal, the grass loving Hailey Bug

Trouble on a Tuesday - Girls Misadventure

Dear pals,

Lady got this idea on Sunday that it would be fun for her and I to go on a hike. She has seriously damaged her elbow so is very limited to what she can do physically and  this is not good for the rest of her body or her head, so she thought a nice walk would be fun. 

I was suspicious from the moment she moment she said let's go and snuck me out while Phod and the Man were sleeping. 

There were some good sniffs,

and some interesting art.

I even found a little snow. 

Now this sounds ok, but there were 2 major problems. Problem one: Mud - while we mostly hung low due to all the rain of last week, there were some soakers.

Lady won't be wearing those shoes to the office this week

Problem Two: Because Man was not with us, I had to be extra concerned and nervous and freaked out and all the things. I could not relax and enjoy it. We passed a few people and I barked once but seemed fine.

Hating my life

I hated being there, I hated I couldn't jump into the car and I had to be lifted, and I hated having to wait in the car for 2 minutes while Lady ran into the corner store to get buns for the Man. Phod hated being left behind, although Lady was able to confirm that if we stayed on the outer loop, Phod would be able to come next time. So there was a lot of hate. Lady said she had a nice time and it was what she needed.

I hope next weekend, Lady just stays at home.

your pal, Hailey Bug who did not like this hike

Trouble on a Tuesday - More Weather -by Phod

 

Dear pals, 

Last week we had a horrible, terrible, not good day.

It started Wednesday when our weather was 13C/55F with rain, thunder and very high winds. These winds knocked trees and branches down, including one that landed on the hydro line behind our house. This took out our power starting at about 4:30 pm on Wednesday.

Then the weather turned very cold. Overnight it went down to -18C/0F.  The power stayed off. Even with the generator and fire, parts of the house got cold. For some reason the internet didn't like the generator (it is usually ok) and caused problems. Lady had to wear gloves while working in her office. Man got fed up and took the afternoon off and went to a movie.  During an outing we decided to run away in the afternoon to look for power. Lady brought us back from the sugar shack. She was thrilled to have spent 30 minutes chasing us around Callie's yard. When trying to fill the generator Lady got covered in gas. Lady was grumpy and miserable and eventually gave up trying to work too. 

The power returned around 5:30 pm.  It has been a long 25 hours. 

Now you would think the mischief would have ended when the power came back, but it didn't. When hanging our leashes up and turning off the garage light, I snuck in. Lady didn't notice. Man was on a work call and Lady was in the tub and she heard the garage door sort of opening and closing. She realized what had happened and jumped out of the tub and ran, leaving a trail of bath water, to the garage. I was very upset. She said it was an accident. I can't believe she locked me in the garage for 87 million years (it was maybe 45 minutes at the most). 

Anyways, it was a horrible, terrible, not good day and I am glad it is over.

Your pal Phod

Remember to go to yesterday's post for our contest - it is early this year! 

Trouble on A Tuesday - Wildlife - by Lee

 Dear pals,

As our weather has been all over the place (one day last week it went from 4C/39F to -25C/-13F), and this has caused the snow against the house to melt.

This is causing a future problem for Lady because something is digging up the bulbs she planted in the fall, meaning she won't have all those flowers. She is trying to be a gardener. 

For now, for me and Phod it is creating some really great smells!

We will see what Lady gets in the spring, if any survived our helpers. 

Your pal Hailey Bug, the garden patroller 

PS after a very rough morning with a sick Man (unrelated, he seems to have influenza) and two dogs that just needed to poop and poop and poop (including a huge poop on the floor as Lady didn't hear the ask while she was working and wasn't expecting because there had already been sooooooo much poop) Lady threw out the expensive poop chews and is back to research. 

Trouble on Tuesday - By Zaphod

 Dear pals,

Hailey shared the troubles on Saturday, but let me tell you, Friday was not a great day either.

First, both my people left for the day. Then the power went out (which was unexpected because it was sunny before the snow came in that evening). I was home alone with no power. I was sure we were going to die.

Lady got home around 1:30. She took us out and then she said I had to go to the vet.

Lee got a second greenie and I resisted getting into the car. Lady and I had a bit of a physical encounter as she tried to lift the 80 lbs of me up as I clung to the ground. She laughed and laughed. Eventually I got in the car. Don't worry, I showed my displeasure by vomiting a lot in the car, and making sure it missed all the covers she had for easy clean up. 

We arrived at the clinic and after checking so much peemail, I went inside and waited for 87 million years. I was terrified. I wasn't even interested in the 2 other dogs I saw. 

Finally, it was my turn and I got my Librela shot. The tech started by saying "I don't know how to say his name." Lady said it and explained the origins. I was very good for my shot. Lady booked my next appointment, because these shots are being a game changer for me, paid and we left.

When we got home, the power was back. Lee gave me a good sniff, I had a good roll and then I had a huge nap. 

Next month Man is taking me. We will see how that goes.

PS: The fix to the Man's car was $10. 

your pal Zaphod, who doesn't know if I should trust people who can't say my name and says getting old is not for the faint of heart

Trouble on a Tuesday - Robot Invasion - by Lee

 Dear pals,

Years ago Lady tried a robot vacuum and didn't love it. This year, for cyber Monday, she got one for the basement. She thought it was worth trying again. 

Man set it up to run on Saturday and I was not a fan. First, he picked up all my beds and then because it moved around a lot. I barked at it a lot. Then I had enough and just went upstairs and ignored it. 

Phod missed all of this because he was sound asleep upstairs. I did see him check it out when it was parked. 

We will see how well this robot does. Especially with two pups blowing their coats. 

Protecting my people from the robot invasion - Hailey Bug

Trouble on A Tuesday - Tumble Lees Are a Thing

 Last week, Phod wrote about blowing his coat. This has slowed down some, but for the first time in 14 years, my girl is blowing her coat. We are wondering if this is a side effect of the steroids she was on earlier this year.

In other trouble, this bed is missing the cover because some dog peed on it when we were out seeing our niece dance. 

At any rate, we have tumble Lees this weeks. She hates being brushed so we don't get as much at once from her. 

Trouble on a Tuesday - A Visitor

Whose in the cage Lady brought home?

Hello friend! (while Phod sniffs the car to determine where it has been)

It is cousin Emma - here for 9 or 10 days while Uncle Chris is in San Diego for work

We can't imagine we will have any mischief to report next week!

Trouble on a Tuesday - What About Me? by Lee

 Hi pals,

Everything these days is "Phody, Phody, Phody." What about me? I am not being an easy dog these days either!

Yes, I am doing my best off leash walking and listening. It really helps that I am slower. Yes, for the most part I am eating better, thanks to the mixing of soft food and hard food.

However, I have had to go back on my prozac because I was working myself up every night and this was working Phod up every night and no one was happy.

Also, probably 5/7 nights (all of 'Lady's nights', she has no idea how I know), I feel the need to be out in the wild world. I don't want to miss a thing.  It has been as early as 1:30 am and as late as 5 am (which on a work day for Lady is ok). Lady often can't really get back to sleep, or it takes a long time, so she has been a bit tired. However, she has got to enjoy the call of the coyotes, the song of the whip-poor-will, and the light display of the fireflies. Due to all the smoke and rain, we haven't had too many starry nights. 

Lady is hoping this is a phase, but time will tell. For now, she is thankful for the opportunity to have this quality time with me (because lampshade, I mean Phod), usually doesn't get up with us. At least that is what I tell her. 

Trouble on a Tuesday - Air Quality - by Lee

 Dear pals,

As many of you likely saw in the news, last week we had a serious smog problem because of all the forest fires.  At the time of writing this, there had been 444 active fires in Quebec and over 730 000 hectares burnt. 

Not thinking (so being herself), Lady had left the windows opened last Monday night and was awoken early Tuesday to the smell of smoke. Her body jolted her out of sleep quite suddenly and it took listening to the birds (who were not distressed) and then a short walk to convince her brain the fires were far.

The start of the haze. Lady didn't get out for a good picture when it was at it's worst.

For a few days we didn't really have walks. We had short trips to the yard. The yard smelt like a big old campfire. It is amazing that we can be far from fires (we were a few hundred km from the nearest) and still be so effected. It started to clear up Friday and this week we should be getting a lot of rain, which we hope will help. 

The smog in Toronto, where Lady was for work for a few days. 

Lady, in her usual not really optimistic self, proclaimed she was only here to watch it all burn, so she is living her life purpose. We all think she could be a little more positive. It seems too soon for that. We hope that worst of this season is behind us and humans and nature can find a way to coexist better.

Lee, who missed her walks and really didn't like the fire smell. 

Trouble on A Tuesday - Wildlife Encounters - Dramatic Recreation by Phod

Dear pals,

Friday evening, after a long day of being abandoned by my people, we made a trip to our lake. As we were reaching the path to go down, I came face to face with a groundhog!

It seems the little fellow has made a home under the lily a neighbour's place (no Callie's but the next neighbours). I went around one way and he was coming the other way and we were face to face!

A dramatic recreation of meeting the groundhog. Picture taken on way up from lake while I was smelling where he had been. 

While Man yelled no (I was not on leash) and yelled to Lady to put Lee on leash (she already was as she wasn't listening), I very gently picked up the groundhog to show him I was a friend and wanted to play. The groundhog did not like that and said some very rude things (used all the HBO words) and I let him go and he raced back to his home.

The encounter over, and since hunting has never really been my interest, I proceeded to my lake. 

On the way back, I had to be on leash until we passed the hole, just in case.

Lady and Man will have to be mindful of this when we go to the lake!